


A Love Story Told In Five Christmases

by Samunderthelights



Series: 25 Days of Drarry [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 25 days of drarry, Advent Challenge, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Developing Relationship, Don't copy to another site, Drarry, Early Bird 25 Days of Harry and Draco 2020, Falling In Love, Happy Ending, M/M, Mistletoe, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27813874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samunderthelights/pseuds/Samunderthelights
Summary: Draco wasn't going to take the Granger-Weasley's up on their invitation for Christmas, but when he finds himself watching Netflix by himself, he decides to go over to their home anyway. He doesn't have anything to lose, does he? But when he finds Harry there, he realises he has everything to gain.This is their story, told over five Christmases.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Series: 25 Days of Drarry [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035147
Comments: 32
Kudos: 96
Collections: 25 Days of Draco and Harry 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> This is my first time taking part in [25 Days of Drarry](https://slythindor100.tumblr.com/), and I'm very excited about it! It's been great, writing all these different stories based on different prompts! There will be a mix of drabbles, short stories and chaptered fics. But we're starting out with a chaptered one.  
> Enjoy!  
> Xx

Draco is feeling a little hesitant as he walks up to the Granger-Weasley home. He had gone to school with both Hermione and Ron, but they hadn’t exactly been friends. So when he had run into his former schoolmates, who were now happily married to each other, he had almost walked by them. But they had recognised him, and after just a short conversation, they had invited him over for Christmas dinner.

Of course Draco wasn’t going to take them up on their invitation, because it has been years, and these people were virtual strangers. He had almost forgotten about the entire thing. But when he had found himself watching Netflix by himself, deciding which of his frozen dinners to eat that night, he had remembered the invitation. So he had gotten changed, grabbed one of the bottles of wine from the kitchen, and he had made his way over to his former schoolmates’ home.

He knocks on the door, immediately changing his mind and wishing he had stayed home instead. But it only takes a moment before the door opens, and it’s too late to turn back now. So he flashes a smile, hoping that the invitation hadn’t just been an empty gesture.

But when Hermione opens the door, a little girl on her arm, and she sees Draco, she gets a big smile on her face.

“We didn’t think you’d still come!” she says, before letting him in. “We’ve just sat down to eat. Harry and Ginny are here too.”

“Uncle Harry.” The little girl smiles, grabbing at her mother’s hair.

“Yes, Rose, uncle Harry,” Hermione laughs, closing the door behind Draco.

“I brought uhm…,” he awkwardly says, holding out the bottle of wine, but she clearly has her hands full.

“Oh, you didn’t have to bring anything! But thank you. Come on,” she says, before leading him into the dining room, where Ron, Harry and Ginny are laughing over something. But they quickly keep quiet when they see Draco, making him feel even more uncomfortable.

He was expecting to have been invited to a big dinner with a group of friends, not a small family dinner with Harry and Ginny being the only other guests. Harry, the boy Draco had gotten into a few scraps with when they were younger. It had all been about nothing, and their fights had been nothing too serious. But when he sees him sitting at the table, he wishes the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

“You came, then?” Ron asks, his sister already getting up to set a place for Draco. “We’ve just started, so sit down.”

“Draco Malfoy.” Ginny smiles. “I didn’t think we’d ever see you again.”

“No…”

“But I’m glad you’re here. You look good.” She smiles, before sitting back down, motioning for Draco to take his place. “So, what have you been up to?”

* * *

“I feel like I should apologise,” Draco says, when he and Harry are clearing the table. During dinner they had been polite enough to each other, but it had been obvious that there was still some tension between them.

“Me too,” Harry quickly says. “It’s a little… it’s weird, seeing you again after all this time.”

“I’m sorry about the things I’ve said to you.”

“I’m sorry for hitting you,” Harry says, and Draco can’t help but let out a chuckle.

“I probably deserved it.”

“You did.” Harry simply states, but then a grin forms on his face. “It’s good to see you again, Draco.”

“You too, Potter.”

* * *

Draco had tried to say his goodbyes after he and Harry had cleared the table, but the family had refused to let him leave, and before he knew it, he was on the couch, with Rose in his lap, playing with his tie.

The others had played Charades, Draco watching them while keeping the little girl entertained. But Hermione had gotten frustrated with Ron, so she had insisted on switching the teams up. So Draco had handed Rose over to Ron, and he had formed a team with Harry.

Only after he had watched Hermione and Ginny kill it at the game, did Draco admit that he had never actually played Charades. But while the others had reassured him that it didn’t matter, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. It’s not like he and Harry are good friends who are known for how well they work together. But they had given it a shot, and while they hadn’t beaten the women’s score, they had surprised everyone with how well it had gone. And by the time the game was over, any tension that was left between them from all those years ago was gone.

“You two would have made a great team,” Ginny says, when her brother and sister-in-law are in the kitchen getting them all another glass of wine. “Why did you always fight anyway?”

“I’m not sure,” Draco admits. “Because I was a bit of a…”

“A bit?” Harry asks, raising an eyebrow. “You were a complete and utter…”

“Why?” Ginny shrugs. “Why couldn’t you have been friends?”

“I wish we would have been,” Draco admits, and immediately he sees something soften in Harry’s face.

“Well, it’s not too late, is it?” Ginny smiles. “Call it a Christmas miracle.”

* * *

“Promise me you won’t disappear on us,” Hermione says as she gives Draco a big hug. “You’ll come see us, okay?”

“I will.” Draco smiles. Years ago he couldn’t have imagined he would be here, spending Christmas with the Granger-Weasley’s, Harry and Ginny. But he has to admit that he has had the best time, and he is glad that he didn’t spend the night watching Netflix by himself.

Draco starts to make his way over to the hallway, but before he can leave the room, Harry catches up with him. He opens his mouth to say something, but just as he is about to speak, Ron interrupts him.

“Mistletoe!”

“What?” Harry asks. “What are…”

Ron points up, and both Draco and Harry look up, only to find that they are standing right underneath some mistletoe.

“You know what that means, don’t you?” Ginny laughs. “Go on, then.”

Draco awkwardly laughs, thinking they are only kidding, but he can quickly tell by their looks that they are genuinely waiting for them to kiss.

“Well…,” Harry laughs. “What do you say?”

Draco isn’t sure if it’s all the glasses of wine he’s had, or if he is simply feeling a little braver because of how comfortable the group of friends had made him feel tonight, but before he knows it, he has leant in and pressed his lips against Harry’s.

It’s just the quickest of kisses, but it’s enough to make Draco feel dizzy. Definitely the wine, he decides.

“I’ll see you again,” Harry says, a shy smile on his face, and Draco can’t help but laugh, shaking his head at the absurdity of what has just happened.

“Until next time, Potter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://samunderthelights.tumblr.com/
> 
> This is the prompt I used for today:  
> 


	2. Chapter 2

Draco had not kept to his promise, and he had not gone back to visit the Granger-Weasley’s after Christmas. Although he had had a great time, he just couldn’t bring himself to pick up the phone and call them. Because what would he say to them? And what would he do if he would have to face Harry and Ginny again?

The whole thing just made him feel uncomfortable thinking about it, so he had kept putting it off, and eventually it hadn’t happened at all.

He was already expecting this year’s Christmas to be as last year’s should have been, Netflix and a frozen dinner that is, when an invitation had appeared in the mail. As soon as he saw Hermione and Ron’s names at the bottom of the page, he was tempted to throw it out. But something about the fact that these strangers had gone to the trouble of inviting him over for dinner again, even after he had ignored them for a whole year, had made him decide to finally give them a call.

Hermione hadn’t brought up the fact that Draco hadn’t called or kept to his promise to come by again, she had just been excited to hear from him again. And on top of inviting him over for Christmas dinner, she had asked him to come spend the afternoon baking Christmas cookies with Rose.

That’s how Draco has found himself, almost a year after the first time, making his way over to the Granger-Weasley home again.

But this time when he knocks on the door, it’s Harry who opens it. And the second Draco sees him standing there, he feels the blush creeping up on him. Because although they had only shared a drunken peck because of the mistletoe, it still makes him feel more than just a little uncomfortable.

“Hermione didn’t tell you I’d be here?” Harry asks, a knowing smile on his face.

“No, sorry…”

“It’s fine,” Harry laughs. “Come in.”

They go into the kitchen, where Hermione is just feeding baby Hugo, while Rose is running around, trying her best to get her mother’s attention.

“Oh, wow.” Draco smiles when he sees the baby boy. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Hermione smiles, but she doesn’t even try to hide how tired she is, how much her daughter is exhausting her right now.

“Why don’t we go make cookies?” Harry quickly suggests. “Let’s leave your mother to it.”

“But…”

“Rose!” Hermione warns her. “Behave, please. You’ll listen to your uncle Harry and Draco, okay?”

The little girl nods, but when she looks up at Draco, he can tell that she doesn’t remember him from last year. So as soon as Hermione has left the room, he goes over to Rose, and he introduces himself to her. But she half-ignores him, too caught up in her excitement about the cookies.

“You don’t have children, do you?”

“Is it that obvious?” Draco laughs.

“No, it’s just that… it doesn’t matter. I was just wondering.”

“Do you and Ginny have children?” Draco asks, as they grab the ingredients, Rose almost knocking the sugar off the kitchen counter.

“Me and Ginny?” Harry laughs. “Why would me and Ginny have children?”

“Because…,” Draco begins, but he quickly realises his mistake. “I thought you two…”

“You thought we were together?”

“I did.”

“No,” Harry laughs. “She’s one of my best friends, but no, we’re not…,” he laughs again, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you thought me and her…”

“Sorry.”

“It’s just funny, that’s all.”

* * *

“What do you think?” Draco asks, Rose chewing down on one of the cookies they had made, a big smile on her face. She gives a thumbs-up, before taking another bite. “Do you want to show your mother what we’ve made?”

Harry grabs the plate of cookies, but when they go to the living room, they find Hermione asleep on the couch, obviously exhausted from having to take care of Rose and Hugo.

“Why don’t we leave your mother…,” Harry tries, but before he can even finish his sentence, Rose has already jumped on top of Hermione, an excited smile on her face.

Hermione sits up, still looking a little sleepy, but she flashes a smile, and she wraps her arms around her daughter.

“Look, mummy!”

“Sorry,” Harry mouths, but Hermione shakes her head, and she takes one of the cookies, before taking a big bite.

Rose looks up at her with big, expecting eyes, and when she sees the big smile on her face, she flashes a proud grin to the two men.

“They’re delicious.” Hermione smiles, before stifling a yawn.

“I’ll make you a coffee,” Harry quickly says, and when he goes back into the kitchen, Draco follows him.

While they wait for the coffee, they sit down at the kitchen table in silence, Draco still feeling that awkwardness because of last year’s kiss. But it’s Harry’s chuckling that finally breaks the silence.

“I still can’t believe you thought me and Ginny were going out.”

“I thought she had a crush on you…”

“When we were children,” Harry laughs. “Did you really think she would have let you kiss me if she had been my girlfriend?”

“I don’t know…,” Draco mumbles, not failing to notice that Harry obviously remembers their kiss too. “That was a little weird, wasn’t it?”

“What? That we kissed?”

“Yeah.”

“It was mistletoe.” Harry shrugs, but then a mischievous grin forms on his face, and he adds. “And it wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Draco finds himself blushing again, because when did Harry become the guy who says whatever is on his mind? Not that Draco is complaining. Not at all.

“I was wondering…,” he begins, but then he shakes his head. “Never mind.”

“What?”

“Last year, when I was leaving, you came up to me and you were going to say something. What was it?”

“I was going to ask you out.”

“What?” Draco laughs, but when he realises that Harry isn’t kidding, he stops. “Oh. So why didn’t you?”

“Because Ron pointed out the mistletoe, and then everyone was watching us...” Harry shrugs. “I wasn’t sure what you would say, and I didn’t want to put you on the spot like that.”

“Thanks… I think.”

“What would you have said?”

“I don’t know,” Draco admits, not sure whether he would have believed Harry, not after all the wine they had had that night. Truth be told, he probably would have thought it was a joke and laughed the whole thing off.

“What would you say if I asked you now?” Harry asks, now looking a little nervous.

“If you asked me out? For a drink, or…”

“You know what I’m asking, Draco.”

“I think I would say yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://samunderthelights.tumblr.com/
> 
> This is the prompt I used for today:  
> 


	3. Chapter 3

It had taken Draco a little while to build up the courage, but in February he had finally given Harry a call. They had met up just two days later for their first date, on Valentine’s Day. It had almost felt like they were jinxing it by going out that day, but after an uncomfortable start where they were both obviously still nervous, the night had eventually turned out great.

More dates had followed, and within weeks, they were spending most of their time at Draco’s apartment. They were still keeping things under wraps though, because they hadn’t actually discussed where they stood yet. Things hadn’t been made official, and it hadn’t been given a name. They were simply two people who were seeing each other. And by the time December came around, they still hadn’t discussed it.

“Ron and Hermione invited me over to theirs for Christmas again,” Draco mentions during breakfast one morning, trying to sound casual, but Harry can tell that he is going somewhere with this. Every time the Granger-Weasley’s had invited them both over, they had gone separately, showing up at different times so no one would get suspicious. But they had not told them that there was something going on between them. They hadn’t even mentioned that they were spending time together.

“I got invited too.”

“Should we go together?” Draco asks, staring into his tea, obviously too nervous to face Harry’s reaction.

“As friends?” Harry asks, finally making Draco look up. “Is that what we are?”

“I don’t know. Are we?”

“I was hoping you were my boyfriend,” Harry admits, making Draco’s face turn a dark shade of red. “Unless I’ve been misreading all of this, of course,” he adds, obviously only teasing Draco.

“You haven’t.”

“I know.” Harry smiles, before taking the mug from Draco’s hands and setting it down on the table. He wraps his arms around his boyfriend, and he kisses him, the smile still on his face. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Draco smiles, and he can’t help but think back to when they were younger. What would they have done, had they known that this is where they would end up, all those years later? What would they have thought, if they had known that they were going to fall in love?

* * *

“Are you sure about this?” Draco asks, just as Harry is about to knock on the door of the Granger-Weasley home.

“Yes,” Harry laughs. “We’re going to tell them, and that’s that.”

The door opens, Ginny standing there with Hugo on her arm, the biggest smile on her face.

“Come in, we’re watching Frozen!” She smiles, before turning and going back into the living room.

Draco and Harry follow her in, and they find Rose and her father in the middle of the room, dancing and singing along to ‘Let It Go’, Rose giving it her all, Ron obviously wishing it was over already.

“Looks like we got here just in time,” Harry laughs, as they sit down next to Hermione, who is trying her best not to laugh. But she is failing miserably, and when Rose makes Ron do it all over again, just so Uncle Harry and Uncle Draco can see it too, she can no longer keep her laughter in.

* * *

“We have something to tell you,” Harry says, when the movie is over, and Rose is playing with one of the toys Santa had brought her this year.

Ginny’s eyes light up, and she shares a knowing smile with Hermione, but they both keep quiet.

“Draco and I… we’ve been dating,” Harry says, and he reaches out and grabs Draco’s clammy hand. “For a few months now.”

“Really?” Hermione grins. “We had no idea!”

“You knew?” Draco asks, “How?”

“Oh, please,” Ginny laughs.

“It was kind of obvious.” Ron shrugs. “From the way you two were acting around each other, you know?”

“Why didn’t anyone say anything, if you all knew?” Harry asks, sounding almost offended.

“Because… well… we all knew?” Hermione shrugs. “We thought you knew that we knew. We all just… knew.”

“Who else knows?”

“Everyone,” Ron says. “Wait, it wasn’t a secret, was it?”

Draco can’t help but laugh, because he had been nervous about having to tell their friends about their relationship all week. So to find out that they had known all along, it feels like he had been freaking out over nothing. Harry, too. Because he knows that Harry was as nervous as he was, even if he had tried his best to hide it.

“Can we do the presents now?” Rose asks, and they all look at her. But as soon as all eyes are turned in her direction, she goes red, and she quickly adds, “Please?”

“Sure,” Hermione laughs.

The little girl runs to the Christmas tree, and she takes the longest time deciding which present to go for first. She finally decides on one, but as soon as she has picked it up, she goes over to her father to whisper something in his ear.

“Yes, this one is for them.” Ron smiles, the smile on his daughter’s face growing bigger.

“This one is for Uncle Harry and Uncle Draco.” She smiles, before handing the present over to the two men.

“Rose picked it out herself,” Ginny adds.

Harry lets Draco unwrap the present, and within seconds, the knitted fabric can be seen. At first Draco thinks it’s one of Molly Weasley’s jumpers, but when he picks it up, he finds that these are in fact, two jumpers. And when he sees the terribly cheesy Christmas print on them, he almost wishes it had been a jumper knitted by Molly instead.

But Rose is staring at them with big eyes, and knowing that the little girl picked these out for them, it makes his heart warm.

“She wanted you to have matching jumpers,” Ginny explains. “Just like her mum and dad.”

“They’re beautiful, Rose.” Harry smiles, the little girl jumping into his arms, before she climbs onto Draco’s lap.

“Thank you,” Draco says, Rose’s face lighting up again.

* * *

“I can’t believe they knew all along,” Harry laughs, as soon as he and Draco have left the house. They are both wearing their Christmas jumper, and when Draco looks at them again, he shakes his head, smiling to himself. “I guess this means you’re really stuck with me, huh.”

“It’s not so bad,” Draco says, a shy smile on his face.

Harry leans in, and he kisses him, snow softly starting to fall down around them. Draco can’t help but think of that first kiss, two years ago underneath the mistletoe. He almost wishes he would have been brave enough to say how it had made him feel, or that Harry would have asked him out that night. That they wouldn’t have wasted a whole year. But what does it matter now, when they are here, together?

Harry’s kisses are starting to make him feel dizzy, but tonight he can’t blame the wine. Tonight he knows that he is only feeling this way because he’s happy, because he’s in love. And before he knows it, he has blurted out the words that have been on the tip of his tongue all day.

“Will you move in with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://samunderthelights.tumblr.com/
> 
> This is the prompt I used for today:  
> 


	4. Chapter 4

Draco hadn’t exactly thought it through when he had asked Harry to move in with him. Sure enough, they were already spending most of their time together at the apartment anyway, but actually living together turned out to be a little different. They had tried their best to make things work, but it had still very much felt like Draco’s apartment, and he could tell that Harry wasn’t feeling at home, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

So in the end they had decided to look for somewhere else to live, and they had settled on an apartment not too far from the Granger-Weasley home. They hadn’t specifically looked for an apartment close to their friends, but it had given them the chance to spend more time with them, and before they knew it, they had settled into the rhythm of weekly dinners and going on family vacations together.

So with Christmas coming up again, the Granger-Weasley’s had already assumed that Draco and Harry would be coming over to theirs for dinner again. But Harry wanted to do things differently this year, so he had invited their friends over to theirs instead, not taking into consideration that the dinner table was too small for them all to sit at, the kitchen too small to prepare a full kitchen dinner in, and they didn’t actually have any Christmas decorations.

Neither of them had ever bothered to buy any, seeing as they, in Harry’s case, had always spent Christmas at their friends’ home, or in Draco’s case, had spent it by themselves and had not seen the point in putting up decorations.

So with just a few days to go until Christmas, they had found themselves shopping for whatever decorations were left at the stores. They had both been dreading it, and it was supposed to be a quick shop, grab whatever you can, then go home again. But as soon as they had seen all the fairy lights and glitter, they had turned into children again. They had ‘oohed’ and ‘awwed’, and they had grabbed almost every little thing they saw, returning home with bags full of things they most definitely did not need. They doubted it would even fit into the apartment at all!

* * *

“Where do we start?” Draco asks, looking around the room, an empty Christmas tree filling up most of the space, the bags of decoration covering the couches and the dinner table. “With the tree?”

“I’ve never actually decorated a tree before,” Harry admits, an uncomfortable look on his face. “I guess you start with the lights?”

“Didn’t you have a tree at home?” Draco asks, mostly just making conversation as he starts searching through the bags. He knows they had bought at least three different coloured lights, but he doesn’t have a clue what bag they ended up in.

“We did. I wasn’t allowed to touch it though, or go anywhere near it even. I once tried, and my uncle hit me so hard, that I never dared go near it again,” Harry says, the air in the room turning cold. Because whenever Draco had asked him about his childhood, he had avoided talking about it. So to hear him bring it up, bring up the abuse he had gone through, it breaks his heart. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” Draco sighs, leaving the bags for what they are, and stepping up to his partner. He wraps his arms around him, and he pulls him against his chest. “I’m sorry.”

“Promise me we’ll be better than that,” Harry mumbles into Draco’s chest, only aware of how big those words are, when Draco doesn’t answer. So he frees himself from his partner’s grip, a serious look on his face. “I want what Ron and Hermione have, Draco.”

“Me too.” Draco smiles, before reaching out and brushing down a lock of Harry’s hair. He can tell from the tears in Harry’s eyes how relieved he is to hear him say this. So he pulls him in for another hug, before kissing him.

* * *

Draco can’t help but smile as he watches Harry’s eyes light up as soon as they have turned on the lights on the tree. It had obviously been emotional for him, decorating it, being reminded of the fact that he wasn’t allowed to come near the tree as a child. But slowly but surely the weight had seemed to lift off his shoulders, and he had turned into a little boy again. He was so excited, watching this empty tree turn into something full of glitter, snowflakes, every shape and colour bauble you can imagine, and it had warmed Draco’s heart to see him like that.

“What do you think?” he asks, a knowing smile on his face. “Do you think it will do?”

“It’s perfect,” Harry says, his eyes glued to the tree. “This is what I always wanted. As a child, I mean.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t have a real home.”

Harry shrugs, letting out a long sigh, his eyes glossing over, obviously thinking about his childhood, about the abuse, having to grow up without his parents. But then a small smile forms on his lips, and he turns to face his partner.

“What are you smiling about?” Draco chuckles.

“All of this, it reminded me of how I felt back then,” Harry admits. “And it made me realise just how happy I am now. Here, with you.”

“Are you going soft on me, Potter?” Draco asks, but he can’t deny that Harry’s words mean the world to him. And when Harry nudges him in the arm, a dark blush on his face, he wraps his arms around him, and he pulls him close. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

* * *

“Talk to me,” Draco whispers, when they are snuggled up on the couch that night. “What’s on your mind?”

“I was just thinking of when we were younger. Wondering why we couldn’t have been friends.”

“Why did we hate each other?”

“I never hated you,” Harry admits, and Draco can’t help but smile. “I thought you were a twat, but I never hated you.”

“Thanks,” Draco chuckles, pulling his partner closer against his chest.

A long silence follows, and for a moment Draco thinks that Harry has fallen asleep. But then Harry yawns, and he clasps his hands around Draco’s, which are settled on his chest.

“I’m glad Ron and Hermione invited you that Christmas,” Harry says. “At first when they told me you were coming, I wasn’t sure what to think. But then when you showed up…,” he continues, his voice getting drowsier, and Draco can tell that it won’t be long before he’s asleep. “It was love at first sight.”

Draco chuckles, knowing fully well that Harry won’t remember any of this conversation by the time he wakes up, and that he would never say this in any other situation. Still the words make Draco feel all warm and fuzzy, and he buries his face in the back of Harry’s neck, before whispering, “For me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://samunderthelights.tumblr.com/
> 
> This is the prompt I used for today:  
> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> Thank you for all the lovely comments on my first '25 Days of Drarry' story. I'm happy to hear you like it (So far, anyway 😆). This is the final chapter of this little story already!  
> Happy holidays, and enjoy!!🎄  
> Xx

After Harry had first started opening up about his childhood, he had slowly but surely began to break down the wall he still had built up around him. Draco had been aware of this wall from the beginning of their relationship, but every time he had tried to mention it, Harry had changed the subject, or he had made it clear that he didn’t want to talk about it. So when he had finally started opening up more, Draco couldn’t have been prouder, and he had stood by him every step of the way.

It had only made their relationship stronger, and because of how close it had made them, it had given Draco the courage to start opening up more too. He had never spoken to anyone about his strict upbringing, or why he had lashed out so much as a young man. Why he had taken out his anger on everyone, including himself. But one night he had sat Harry down, and he had told him, without holding back, just how unhappy he had been. Not just as a child, but even just a few years ago.

It hadn’t been until that Christmas, when Ron and Hermione had invited him, when things had finally started to change for him. That night had shown him, even if it had been for just one night, what things could be like, and without even fully realising it at the time, it had made him let go of that anger to which he had been holding onto all those years.

It had been good for both men to finally talk about things, but they can’t deny that it had been emotional too. That it had been draining at times, and that they could both do with a break. So with Christmas coming up, and the Granger-Weasley’s spending it at the Weasley’s, they decided to book a vacation and spend the holidays in the sun instead.

* * *

They had arrived at their private little beach house last night, and after they had watched the sunset, they had spent most of the night lying in each other’s arms, watching the view from the window, listening to the sound of the waves.

“What do you want to do today?” Harry asks, Draco still in bed. “We could go for a walk… check out the town?”

“Or we could stay in bed,” Draco suggests, and when Harry turns to face him, he can see the mischievous smile on his face. “For just a little while longer anyway.”

“Fine by me.” Harry grins, before jumping back onto bed, and climbing on top of Draco. He kisses him, and he pins his hands down on the bed. “As long as you promise to go out to dinner with me tonight.”

“I promise,” Draco says. “Now kiss me, Potter.”

* * *

When Harry and Draco had tried to cook Christmas dinner last year, it hadn’t exactly been a success. It turned out that neither of them actually knew how to cook anything other than the basics, and in the end they had called Ginny, who had come over to help them out.

“This is better, right?” Harry laughs, as they sit down at their table in the restaurant, overlooking the beach.

“It’s a lot less stressful, that’s for sure,” Draco laughs. “I’m not sure if it will be better. It’s not exactly…”

“Ron and Hermione’s Christmas dinner?”

Draco gives a nod, as he checks out the menu, trying his best to find a dish that even remotely resembles anything that reminds him of Christmas. But most of the dishes are curries, or fish dishes he doesn’t dare order because he doesn’t know what half of the ingredients are.

“Would you rather have been at the Weasley’s?” Harry asks. “Molly invited us too, but you said…”

“No, I’m happy we’re here,” Draco quickly says, flashing a reassuring smile. “I just miss having a… you know…”

“Christmas dinner with our family?” Harry asks, a knowing smile on his face, Draco not failing to notice his use of the words ‘our family’. “Next year we’ll have a big family Christmas again, with Ron, Hermione, the kids…”

“Maybe in a few years we’ll have our own kids…,” Draco adds, quickly looking back at the menu, but when there is no reaction, he looks up, afraid he messed up. But he finds Harry staring at him with a big smile on his face, his eyes a little teary.

“I can’t wait.”

* * *

After they had had dinner, which most definitely was nothing like a Christmas dinner at all, but very nice nonetheless, they had gone for a walk on the beach. By the time they had gotten back to their beach house, it had already been dark outside, and all Draco had wanted to do was get into bed and have a snuggle with his partner.

But Harry had mentioned something about leaving his jacket back at the restaurant, and even though Draco had told him that he hadn’t worn a jacket that day, he had run out to get it. So Draco was left on his own, a little irritated, and he is now sitting on the bed, waiting for Harry to get back and tell him that he indeed had not worn a jacket.

But instead, Harry comes back in, a nervous smile on his face, and he tells him to close his eyes.

Draco does as he is told, because after all, it’s Christmas, so when Harry tells him to close his eyes, he half-expects to be given a present. Instead, Harry pulls him up to his feet, and he leads him out of the beach house, back onto the beach.

“What are…”

“Open your eyes.” Harry smiles, and when Draco does as he is told, he finds the beach covered in rose petals and lit candles.

“What…,” Draco begins, but then he sees that something is written in the sand. So he steps up to the words so he can read them better, and when he sees the words ‘Marry Me’, he gasps, before quickly covering his mouth with his hands.

“Will you marry me?” Harry asks, and Draco spins around and jumps into his arms. “Is that a yes, then?”

“Of course,” Draco says, burying his face into his partner’s neck, as he tries his best to fight his tears. “I can’t believe… of course I’ll marry you.”

* * *

As romantic as the proposal had been, they didn’t want to leave behind candles and rose petals. So they had first cleaned up the beach, before they had gone to bed to celebrate their engagement. They had considered calling their friends to tell them the news, but they had decided to keep it to themselves for just a little while longer. But they can’t stop thinking about it, because hours later they are still awake, still unable to get the smile off their face.

“When do you want to have the wedding?”

“How about Valentine’s Day?” Draco suggests. “That’s when we had our first date.”

“That’s not long to plan a wedding,” Harry laughs. “I’m pretty sure that day will be booked full for years in advance…”

“It doesn’t have to be anything big.” Draco shrugs. “Just us, our family… maybe get together to celebrate and have dinner?”

“Valentine’s Day it is, then.” Harry smiles, before laying his head down on Draco’s chest, and wrapping an arm around him.

“I can’t wait to marry you, Potter,” Draco whispers, before kissing the top of his head. But Harry looks up at him, a shy smile on his face.

“How about Potter-Malfoy?”

“We’ll see,” Draco laughs, but his insides are doing cartwheels, as they have been doing ever since he had seen those words written down in the sand, and when he closes his eyes, he sees the rest of their lives together flashing before his eyes. The two of them dancing at their wedding, in the hospital to meet their daughter, a big Christmas dinner, the whole family there, all the kids running around and playing, the two of them, together at their son’s wedding, in their old age still running around the store like children, excited over what Christmas decorations to get.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Harry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://samunderthelights.tumblr.com/
> 
> This is the prompt I used for today:  
> 


End file.
